No Crimson Caravan for Alabama fans this spring

Nick Saban and his Crimson Caravan will not be coming to a town near you this spring.

Alabama athletic director Bill Battle said the annual southern tour has been put “on hold” while the department assesses its options for 2016 and beyond.

A typical caravan event featured Saban giving behind-closed-doors insight to ticket holders and boosters. Other coaches and Alabama alumni were often brought in as special guests for the tour, which began in 2008.

“We are going to evaluate some different options from a development standpoint and we won’t have the typical caravans this spring,” Alabama senior associate athletic director for development Sam Branch said. “It’s the right time to look at new ideas and formats.”

Last spring’s jaunt ran from April 21-May 12 and stopped in four cities: Huntsville (Ala.), Dothan (Ala.), Dallas and Atlanta.

That was down from eight cities in 2014, when the caravan also stopped by Charlotte, Mobile (Ala.), Montgomery (Ala.), Nashville and Birmingham.